How Ebola sneaks past immune system

The Ebola virus uses a protein decoy to undermine and evade the immune response of its infected host, new research shows.

Ebola virus is the causative agent of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), a disease with up to 90 percent mortality. While human outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever have been confined to Africa, Ebola virus infections in bats, the presumed natural reservoir of the virus, have also been detected in Europe and Asia. Ebola virus infection has also been reported in domestic pigs in Southeast Asia.

The high lethality of the disease, combined with its short incubation period and the lack of vaccines or effective treatments, makes Ebola virus a significant public health threat as well as a potentially devastating biological weapon.